“An exhilarating gallop through one of the world’s most fascinating continents”
Rory Carroll, The Guardian

“A stimulating dive into this large and gamey continent”

Literary Review

“At last, a really readable, through, eye-opening book that takes you around the region”

Monocle Magazine

“Colourful, humorous and informed”

The Metro
‘Balch’s eye for detail is impressive, personalising the book beyond the academic and painting vivid, affecting pictures of the poverty that blights the continent … a clear, colourful account of people whose liberation from their colonisers has yet to provide them with the kind of freedom that Bolívar envisioned.’Irish Times

‘Viva! is both funny and serious … a vivid, enjoyable book about one of the few areas that offer any real hope for socialists today.’ New Statesman

‘The reader is left hungry to hear more, for the author is adept at giving vivid pictures … a brilliant series of snapshots of life and struggle in this seething continent.’The Tablet

‘A lively and entertaining mix of reportage and travelogue. Wittily observant, and with a good eye for the absurd, he can find himself one moment sitting alongside the Chilean president Michelle Bachelet at an all-female lunch, and the next taking a “four-night break in Rio’s premier favela hotel”.’The Independent